BRANCH:
U.S. Marine Corps
LOCATION:
Huntington Beach, Calif.
TEAM:
Defense, Space & Security
Casey Fox
Manager, Recovery and Modification Services
Growing up on the Fort Berthold Indian
Reservation in North Dakota, Casey
Fox was raised to revere members of
the military. Not only was his stepfather
a former U.S. Marine and grandfather a
World War II veteran, but his tribe, the
Arikara, holds members of the military in
high regard by awarding them the right
to carry the U.S. flag and eagle staff—
their tribe’s equivalent of the Stars and
Stripes—during powwows.
So when it came time to decide what
to do with his life, Fox chose the U.S.
Marine Corps. As an F/A-18 avionics
technician there, he learned the benefits
of working with diversely skilled teams,
a lesson that would come in handy in
his current role as a C-17 Recovery
and Modification Services manager
in Huntington Beach, Calif.
One of Fox’s jobs in the Corps was
to service departing and returning jets
on an aircraft carrier at night. Working
quickly in low visibility, everyone on the
flight deck was responsible for performing
a task distinguished only by the color
of their shirt or protective headset.
“Some wore red, white, yellow,
brown, green, but each one of those
shirts represented a different job or skill
set associated to safely ensuring the
aircraft not only launched but also was
recovered when it came back to the
carrier,” Fox said. “It didn’t matter what
upbringing, race, background, beliefs
or special interests we brought to work
every day. Our priority was to support
the aircraft, and we took that to heart.”
That appreciation and reliance
on diverse skill sets has followed
Fox throughout his career, from the
military through nine management
positions he’s had since starting as
an avionics technical writer at Boeing
heritage company McDonnell Douglas.
In September he returned from an
extended absence to find that his team
had independently solved a number of
issues that arose.
“It was like they fed off each other
and finished each other’s sentences
as they explained the solution for the
situation they avoided,” he said. “It
made me smile because they didn’t
need me to work the situation. I don’t
take credit for that. It’s just something
you would hope your team is able to
do. Having said that, I’m going to take
more vacation.” •
PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON | BOEING